Detailed Description

The Get-Location cmdlet gets an object that represents the current directory, much like the pwd (print working directory) command.

When you move between Windows PowerShell drives, Windows PowerShell retains your location in each drive. You can use Get-Location to find your location in each drive.

You can use Get-Location to get the current directory at run time and use it in functions and scripts, such as in a function that displays the current directory in the Windows PowerShell prompt.

You can also use the Get-Location cmdlet to display the locations in a location stack. For more information, see the Notes and the descriptions of the Stack and StackName parameters.

Parameters

-PSDrive<String[]>

Gets the current location in the specified Windows PowerShell drive.

For example, if you are in the Certificate: drive, you can use this parameter to find your current location in the C: drive.

Aliases

none

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

none

Accept Pipeline Input?

true (ByPropertyName)

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

-PSProvider<String[]>

Gets the current location in the drive supported by the specified Windows PowerShell provider.

If the specified provider supports more than one drive, Get-Location returns the location on the most recently accessed drive.

For example, if you are in the C: drive, you can use this parameter to find your current location in the drives of the Windows PowerShell Registry provider.

Aliases

none

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

none

Accept Pipeline Input?

true (ByPropertyName)

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

-Stack

Displays the locations in the current location stack.

To display the locations in a different location stack, use the StackName parameter. For information about location stacks, see the Notes.

Aliases

none

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

False

Accept Pipeline Input?

false

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

-StackName<String[]>

Displays the locations in the specified named location stacks. Enter one or more location stack names.

To display the locations in the current location stack, use the Stack parameter. To make a location stack the current location stack, use the Set-Location parameter. For information about location stacks, see the Notes.

NOTE: Get-Location cannot display the locations in the unnamed default stack unless it is the current stack.

Aliases

none

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

none

Accept Pipeline Input?

true (ByPropertyName)

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

-UseTransaction

Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see about_Transactions

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

false

Accept Pipeline Input?

false

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Verbose, -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -OutBuffer, and -OutVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=113216).

Inputs

The input type is the type of the objects that you can pipe to the cmdlet.

None

You cannot pipe input to this cmdlet.

Outputs

The output type is the type of the objects that the cmdlet emits.

System.Management.Automation.PathInfo or System.Management.Automation.PathInfoStack

If you use the Stack or StackName parameters, Get-Location returns a StackInfo object. Otherwise, it returns a PathInfo object.

Notes

The Get-Location cmdlet is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers in your session, type "Get-PSProvider". For more information, see about_Providers.

The ways that the PSProvider, PSDrive, Stack, and StackName parameters interact depends on the provider. Some combinations will result in errors, such as specifying both a drive and a provider that does not expose that drive. If no parameters are specified, Get-Location returns the PathInfo object for the provider that contains the current working location.

A "stack" is a last-in, first-out list in which only the most recently added item is accessible. You add items to a stack in the order that you use them, and then retrieve them for use in the reverse order. Windows PowerShell lets you store provider locations in location stacks. Windows PowerShell creates an unnamed default location stack and you can create multiple named location stacks. If you do not specify a stack name, Windows PowerShell uses the current location stack. By default, the unnamed default location is the current location stack, but you can use the Set-Location cmdlet to change the current location stack.

To manage location stacks, use the Windows PowerShell Location cmdlets, as follows.

-- To add a location to a location stack, use the Push-Location cmdlet.

-- To get a location from a location stack, use the Pop-Location cmdlet.

-- To display the locations in the current location stack, use the Stack parameter of the Get-Location cmdlet. To display the locations in a named location stack, use the StackName parameter of the Get-Location cmdlet.

-- To create a new location stack, use the StackName parameter of the Push-Location cmdlet. If you specify a stack that does not exist, Push-Location creates the stack.

-- To make a location stack the current location stack, use the StackName parameter of the Set-Location cmdlet.

The unnamed default location stack is fully accessible only when it is the current location stack. If you make a named location stack the current location stack, you cannot no longer use Push-Location or Pop-Location cmdlets add or get items from the default stack or use Get-Location command to display the locations in the unnamed stack. To make the unnamed stack the current stack, use the StackName parameter of the Set-Location cmdlet with a value of $null or an empty string ("").

Examples

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 1 --------------------------

This command displays your location in the current Windows PowerShell drive.

For example, if you are in the Windows directory of the C: drive, it displays the path to that directory.

The second command uses the Set-Location cmdlet to change the location to the HKLM:\Software\Microsoft registry key. When you change to a location in the HKLM: drive, Windows PowerShell retains your location in the C: drive.

The sixth command uses the Get-Location cmdlet to find the current location in the drives supported by the Windows PowerShell registry provider. Get-Location returns the location of the most recently accessed registry drive, HKCU.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 3 --------------------------

These commands show how to use the Stack and StackName parameters of Get-Location to list the locations in the current location stack and alternate location stacks. For more information about location stacks, see the Notes.

The first command sets the current location to the Windows directory on the C: drive.

The second command uses the Push-Location cmdlet to push the current location (C:\Windows) onto the current location stack and change to the System32 subdirectory. Because no stack is specified, the current location is pushed onto the current location stack. By default, the current location stack is the unnamed default location stack.

The third command uses the StackName parameter of the Push-Location cmdlet to push the current location (C:\Windows\System32) onto the Stack2 stack and to change the current location to the WindowsPowerShell subirectory. If the Stack2 stack does not exist, Push-Location creates it.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 4 --------------------------

This example shows how to customize the Windows PowerShell prompt. The function that defines the prompt includes a Get-Location command, which is run whenever the prompt appears in the console.

The format of the default Windows PowerShell prompt is defined by a special function called "prompt". You can change the prompt in your console by creating a new function called "prompt".

To see the current prompt function, type the following command:

get-content function:prompt

The command begins with the "function" keyword followed by the function name, "prompt". The function body appears within braces ( {} ).

This command defines a new prompt that begins with the string "PowerShell: ". To append the current location, it uses a Get-Location command, which runs when the prompt function is called. The prompt ends with the string "> ".